Sore back couldn't keep Army's Gann from making plays

Friday

DALLAS — Nothing was going to keep Mike Gann off the field for his final game in an Army uniform.

DALLAS — Nothing was going to keep Mike Gann off the field for his final game in an Army uniform.

Army's senior nose guard had waited five long years for this moment.

Gann pulled himself off the turf and walked to the sidelines in the second quarter of the Armed Forces Bowl Thursday after his back got twisted when SMU left guard Bryce Tennison was called for holding him.

Gann sat out a few plays to catch his breath and was back playing the next series. Boy did Gann make his presence felt. He flattened quarterback Kyle Padron for a 1-yard loss on a fourth-down keeper at Army's 34.

"My leg would have to be amputated for me to come out," Gann said. "My back is sore. But I'll take a bowl win every day."

This is Gann's second senior season. He was granted an extra year after he missed most of his sophomore season with a knee injury. Now, Gann can celebrate a bowl victory after Army's 16-14 win over SMU.

"It's been a long journey," said Gann, who graduated from West Point earlier this month and is off to officer's training in Ft. Sill, Okla., in February. "I've seen so much commitment from everybody as a program to get where we are. We have guys working night and day to get us the facilities we need and get us ready. It was a program effort and we got it done on the field."

Gann walked off the field and tossed his gloves and wristbands into the stands for a few Army fans.

Army and SMU laid it all on the line in a very physical game.

Army wide receiver Austin Barr struggled to make it up a few flight of stairs to the team's locker room following the game.

"We wouldn't have had it any other way, nice and close," Barr said.

SMU 6-foot-8 sophomore Magnus Hunt stopped Alex Carlton's consecutive extra-point streak at 54 with a block in the first quarter. It was Carlton's first miss in his career.

One cadet who made the trip to Dallas for the game held a creative sign as Army's alma mater played after the victory.